Why Catholics are leaving the faith by age 10 – and what parents can do about it

Fr. Matthew Schneider, LC, who worked in youth ministry for four years, emphasized that faith and science must be presented to young people in harmony with each other.

A challenge, he explained, is teaching how “faith and science relate” through philosophy and theology. While science deals only with “what is observable and measurable,” he said, “the world needs something non-physical as its origin, and that’s how to understand God along with science.”

“It was the Christian faith that was the birthplace of science,” he continued. “There’s not a contradiction” between faith and science, “but it’s understanding each one in their own realms.”

How can parents raise their children to stay in the faith? Fr. Schneider cited research by Christian Smith, a professor of sociology at the University of Notre Dame, who concluded that a combination of three factors produces an 80 percent retention rate among young Catholics.

If they have a “weekly activity” like catechesis, Bible study or youth group; if they have adults at the parish who are not their parents and who they can talk to about the faith; and if they have “deep spiritual experiences,” they have a much higher likelihood of remaining Catholic, Fr. Schneider said.

Related

Fr. Matthew P. Schneider, LC

We love Jesus. Jesus loved us first. I want to help you experience Jesus and become his apostle. I'm a priest with the Legionaries of Christ ordained in 2013, living in the Washington DC metro area where I studies at STL and helps out with various ministries. I'm also one of the top priests on social media with over 40,000 Twitter followers. I'm originally from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, but I've worked throughout North America.

Subscribe to This Blog (E-mail)

If you give me your e-mail, some computer will automatically send you a note every time I publish something.